As a result of COVID-19, Belleville Transit will temporarily suspend scheduled fixed-route service until further notice.

Riders can book rides for any time of service through the “On-Demand Transit – Rider App,” online at btletsgo.ca, by phone at 613-962-1925 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or through e-mail at bellevilletransit@belleville.ca.

The on-demand service works like any other ride sharing program, riders input their pick up and drop off location and specify what time they either want to get picked up or dropped off by.

“We put that in the system, the bus will schedule it and dispatch the vehicle,” explained Paul Buck, manager of transit operations at the City of Belleville. “So rather than trying to figure out a schedule, route and worry about transfers, with the on-demand they pick the time, the destination, the spot and the system does the rest.”

Buck noted since the drop in ridership due to social distancing, the on-demand service is better suited at servicing the smaller rider base.

“It’s actually more convenient than the fixed route service. Now that our ridership has decreased by about 80 per cent, this is an excellent opportunity for this service to work. We will be able to cover the entire city with fewer buses, because there are fewer riders,” Buck said.

The switch to on-demand is the latest in a series of changes Belleville Transit has enacted to combat the spread of COVID-19.

“We are still waiving the fair for now, we are also still using the rear door access to the bus – unless you need the ramp – to try and keep that distance away from the driver,” Buck said. “We are also taping off every other seat… so nobody can sit too close to each other”.

Belleville Transit has also reduced the number of buses in the fleet, but due to the real-time passenger data offered by the on-demand service working in conjunction with the agility of not having to fulfill scheduled routes, going fully on-demand has enabled transit to quickly adjust resources to better fulfill rider needs and safety.

“With the on-demand we can also cap ridership on board the bus, so we will be able to limit passenger loads to 19 (seats) and one wheelchair to help maintain that social distance as well,” Buck said. “We have it set up right now for five buses weekdays and four buses on the weekends. But what is really nice about on-demand is that if we see ridership increasing, we can add more buses without having to make any changes on route.”

Sanitizing efforts will also benefit from the reduced fleet. The lower number of exposed buses will enable those in service to be cleaned more throughout the day.

“Now that we have fewer vehicles on the road we can do even more sanitizing and make sure that we are protecting ourselves and our riders and keeping everybody as healthy as we can,” Buck said.

In a time when non-essential businesses and travel are being postponed, Belleville Transit has made modifications to their services in hopes of providing transportation while also keeping the safety of riders and operators top priority.

“It’s an incredibly stressful time right now,” Buck said. “Public transit has been identified as an essential service by both federal and provincial governments. We want to be there to help get our passengers out on those essential trips, make sure they get to work… be able to get groceries back to their home, to get to the pharmacy to get their prescriptions filled. In order to do that, our drivers need to stay healthy as well. With this reduction in service it is going to give our drivers an opportunity to be home and rested.”